Create a Single-Column Start Menu in the Windows 10 Creators Update

Create a Single-Column Start Menu in the Windows 10 Creators Update

If there’s one thing Microsoft loves to do, it’s play around with the Windows 10 Start Menu. The Windows 10 Creators Update is no different, with Microsoft adding an interesting new setting for all of you who prefer an uncluttered desktop experience.

Microsoft has now made it easier to simplify the Start Menu into a single column without dumping the live tiles. What this new Start Menu setting does is create a single view, where you can switch between your live tiles and your apps list.

To achieve this simplfed view, open the Settings app and go to Personalization and then click Start. Scroll down past the preview to the list of on/off sliders and turn off the one that’s labelled ‘Show app list in Start menu’. Don’t worry, because even if you turn this setting off you will still be able to get to your apps list.

Now, we’ve got a single view of live tiles, but it’s still arranged horizontally. If you like that look, just leave it as is, but if you want a single column you’ll need to move all your live tile groups from the right over to the left.

To do this, hover over the name of the live tile group you want to move and then just click and drag. If you have difficulty moving the groups, use the two horizontal lines on the right as your click-and-drag target.

Now, to switch between live tiles and the app list just click one of the two icons in the upper-left corner of the Start Menu.

The only downside to Microsoft’s new setting is that you can’t have the Start menu show your app list by default.

An alternative is to not mess with you Start settings and just move your live tiles over so that you have one column of tiles and one column for the Windows 10 app list.